James Morris Whiton

James Morris Whiton
Alma mater	Yale University

James Morris Whiton Jr. (April 11, 1833 – January 25, 1920) was a teacher, linguist, lexicographer and clergyman. He is credited with creating the first Harvard-Yale Regatta in 1853, and is notable as one of the first three individuals to earn a PhD at an American university, earning the degree in classics at Yale University in 1861.^[1][2]

Photograph of Whiton

Biography

Early life

Whiton was born in Boston, Massachusetts to James Morris Whiton (1809–1857) and Mary Elizabeth (Knowlton) Whitton (1809–1906). He graduated from the Boston Latin School in 1848 as valedictorian.

Studies at Yale

While riding on a train in 1852, Whiton encountered James H. Elkins, then the superintendent of the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad. While traveling through New Hampshire, Whiton noted that Lake Winnipesaukee would be an excellent location for a regatta. In response, Elkins remarked that if Whiton could organize a race between Harvard and Yale, that Elkins would pay for all the train fares and other bills.^[3][4]

In the summer after his junior year, Whiton competed in the very first Harvard-Yale Regatta in 1852, rowing from the bow in a boat named the Undine.^[3] In 1853, he earned his BA from Yale University. He was also admitted to Phi Beta Kappa and was class salutatorian.

Starting in 1859, he began studying Sanskrit with William Dwight Whitney, which ultimately lead to him earning a PhD in classics at Yale in 1861.^[5] Whiton's PhD was among the first of three such degrees in the United States, as Eugene Schuyler and Arthur Williams Wright also earned their PhDs from Yale that year.

Whiton took examinations in Latin, Greek, German and Sanskrit.^[6] The title of his dissertation was "Brevis Vita, Ars Longa," which consisted of six pages of Latin prose in the style of Cicero.^[5][6]

Teaching

After graduating Yale, Whiton worked for a year as a principal's assistant at the Worcester Classical and English High School in Worcester, MA. He then served as rector of the Hopkins Grammar School (1854–1865). He would later serve as the principal of Williston Seminary from 1876 to 1878.^[6]

Ministry

Besides his academic work, Whiton was a minister, spurred in part by the death of his younger sister in 1847. He served as a minister in Lynn, Massachusetts (1865–1875), Newark, New Jersey (1879–1885) and New York City (1886–1891).^[5]

Death

Whiton died in 1920 and is buried in Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Legacy

In 1888, he established the Whiton Prize at Talladega College.^[5]

References

1. Tull, Herman (2015). "Whence Sanskrit? (kutaḥ saṃskṛtamiti): A Brief History of Sanskrit Pedagogy in the West". International Journal of Hindu Studies. 19 (1/2): 213–256. ISSN 1022-4556.
2. "Phi Beta Kappa News and Notes". The Phi Beta Kappa Key. 2 (7): 354–356. 1915. ISSN 2373-0331.
3. The Outlook 1901-06-01: Vol 68 Iss 5. Open Court Publishing Co. June 1, 1901 – via Internet Archive.
4. Aldredge, James (July 1946). "A Railroad Man Started the Harvard–Yale Regatta" (PDF). Boston and Maine Railroad Employees' Magazine. pp. 8–9. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
5. "Whiton, James Morris". dbcs.rutgers.edu. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
6. Rosenberg, Ralph P. (October 1961). "The First American Doctor of Philosophy Degree: A Centennial Salute to Yale, 1861–1961". The Journal of Higher Education. 32 (7): 387–394. doi:10.1080/00221546.1961.11773412. ISSN 0022-1546.

External links

• His personal papers at the Burke Library of Union Theological Seminary, part of the Columbia University Libraries.